Decision - New Historic Records Office & Resource Centre

To seek Cabinet approval for the New Historic Records Office & Resource Centre.

271.1    Councillor Bowden introduced the report and stated that it provided an update on the progress of the development of the Keep and the services that would be provided at the new site.  He noted that the building works were progressing rapidly and it was hoped that they would be completed by May 2013.  He also noted that with the move of the History Centre it was intended to maintain a dedicated area at the Jubilee Library to enable access to the material held.  He was aware that there had previously been a degree of opposition to the proposed move of the history Centre, but in this instance he felt that it was the appropriate way forward and would be supported.

271.2    The Chair welcomed the report and stated that he believed the new building would provide excellent facilities for all those that used it and was worth noting that it had been located in the city when it could have gone elsewhere in the county.

271.3    Councillor G. Theobald stated that he was delighted to have the facility in the city and commended East Sussex County Council for agreeing to its location.

271.4    Councillor Mitchell welcomed the report and stated that she was pleased to see that provision would be made at Jubilee Library and asked that details of how to get to the facility were available.

271.5    Councillor Bowden welcomed the comments and stated that he would discuss matters with officers and was happy to arrange a site visit for Members should they wish to see how the building was developing.

271.6    The Chair then put the recommendations to the vote.

271.7    RESOLVED:

(1)         That the vision for The Keep as a state of the art historical resource service for the city and the county of East Sussex be endorsed.  Representing the next generation of archive building it will bring together the archives and historical resources of East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC), currently held at the East Sussex Records Office (ESRO), BHCC’s local history 2D (2 dimension, eg photographs) collections and resources from across the Royal Pavilion & Museums service (RPM) currently housed in a number of locations including the Brighton History Centre (BHC), and the Special Collections of the University of Sussex (UoS), including the internationally renowned Mass Observation Archive. The building will also include the library and headquarters of the Sussex Family History Group;

(2)         That the project’s continued development, most notably the excellent progress of construction works that began last October and which remains on programme, and the other main areas of activity as set out in the report be noted;

(3)         That the construction programme, which shows Practical Completion is due by May 2013, together with an outline of other key events as set out in Section 3.22 of the report be noted;

(4)         That the new membership of the joint Project Board, together with revised project management arrangements that were agreed following the partners’ review of partnership working arrangements be noted;

(5)         That the partners’ progress in advancing the various legal and partnership agreements and that it is hoped that these will be concluded in June 2012 be noted;

(6)         That the officer work in support of preparing the long-term governance agreement (for example around acquisition policies), the final form of which will return to a future Committee meeting for approval in good time to enable all partners to enter into it prior to practical completion of the building be noted;

(7)         That the recommendation that the services provided by the Brighton History Centre will be provided through The Keep and that the Council maintains a single city centre research facility at Jubilee Library as a hub of the Keep in addition to those provided at other city wide libraries be agreed;

(8)         That it be noted that 2D local history resources housed at the Brighton History Centre and housed across RPM will be moved to the Keep to ensure their long-term preservation and prevent their deterioration.  In addition, some other material will move to the Keep in the medium-term to ensure that it is stored in recommended environmental conditions to conserve the material and minimise future deterioration; and

(9)         That community engagement and learning projects which are being developed around the Keep’s resources in the city be noted.